The Great Silk Run

You'll need to get yourself to Dushanbe, Tajikistan some time on the 19th of August, where there will be an airport pickup waiting and a hotel room with your name on it. Most flights go via Turkey or Dubai. 

Getting to the Bartang Valley is no small feat. On Sunday we start our long bus journey to the valley entrance. En route we pass stunning scenery and have time to stop and explore. We'll stay in a small homestay in the village of Rushan.

Today we'll leave the Tajik-Afgan border town of Rushan and head into the Bartang Valley on foot to start the Great Silk Run. It's nothing but a tiny turning off a tiny road. Just the way we like it. Homestay in the tiny village of Siponj. Don't bother Googling it.

Staying in local village homestays we'll wend our way along the Bartang river. Expect to see no more than one car per day and always locals. Tourists don't go down this way. Today we're heading for Basid. This one actually does show up on Google Maps, but only just - and in the wrong place.

Off to the equally small village of Savnob today, through spectacular canyons and over beautiful passes. Glad it's all being professionally filmed!  Picnic lunch on route. 

Run to Gudara village, where we will see Lapnazar Peak (5990m), it's the only mountain in Tajikistan that you can see from top to bottom. Check out the Juniper trees and local way of life. Up till now we've been staying in homestays, now we break out the tents.

Today we'll journey through Tanimas valley and pass by Kok Jar (no sniggering), one of the most stunning and mind-blowing parts of the trail. This will be one Kok of a day as we gain height steadily.

Very wild camping for a night as we leave even the smallest villages behind. We might see Marco Polo sheep herds en route and will pass next to a large meteorite crater. 

Wild running in the middle of freakin' nowhere leads us to Karakul on the border of Kyrgyzstan and China. Here we'll leave the Bartang Valley behind and join the legendary M41 Pamir Highway. This will mark the end of the Great Silk Run. We'll board cars in the afternoon to start the journey back.

A long bus journey back to Dushanbe, stopping for celebratory meals and parties along the way. We'll stop in Karakul, Murgab, and Khorog - and by this point, we'll be able to pronounce them correctly (probably). 

Leaving Khorog for the final leg (by car) back to Dushanbe. We really did travel a very long way from home. Breaks and food along the way. 

Flights back home, or stay another day. The Great Silk Run is done and you just ran across Tajikistan - so you can do whatever the hell you like. You're a badass.